Trump's son-in-law in secret meeting with top Democrat

 

Joakim Magnå/TT

Published 22.07

           

          Businessman Jared Kushner is Donald Trump's son-in-law and advisor. Archive Photo: Ludovic                  Marin/AP/TT

President Donald Trump's son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner recently met with top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in New York.

The private meeting can be seen as a signal that the White House wants to rake the ground for closer cooperation with the opposition - if the balance of power shifts this fall.

The meeting, which was revealed by The New York Times, is interesting because Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democratic group in the House of Representatives, is likely to become speaker if his party wins a majority in the mid-term elections in November.

Housing, immigration and the cost of living were among the topics discussed during the meeting, reports the AP news agency.

Kushner is also said to have suggested that Jeffries should meet with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as a next step.

“Powerful Resistance”

Jeffries did not mention the private conversation with Kushner in a statement on Sunday, but said the US Republican leadership must abandon its uncompromising “all-or-nothing line” that he believes has “disadvantaged the American people.”

“To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made it clear that an extremist strategy will not work and will be met with powerful resistance,” Jeffries said.

Today, Republicans control both the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress. But opinion polls indicate that the party will lose the majority in the House of Representatives in November. What will happen in the Senate is more uncertain.

If the Democrats were to gain power, it would mean a setback for Donald Trump’s policies. It would also open the door to harsh scrutiny and even impeachment proceedings against the president and those top Trump administration officials who have angered the Democrats.

Mitigating the consequences

Jared Kushner's actions can therefore be seen as a way to mitigate the consequences of a possible election loss, writes AP.

The current Trump-loyal speaker, Republican Mike Johnson, tried to play down the matter in an interview with Fox News on Sunday:

- I don't know what it's about. I know that Jared has interests in a lot of other things that are going on. He's not really directly involved in the administration, at least not in the daily work of the White House.